Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Stones of Virtue
by OMNISENSE95
Summary: Club Marx has always been something of an oddball... but when he wakes up in a lush field as a Combusken, his life becomes even more complicated. Perhaps the secret to Mega Evolution would aid him in his endeavors. Sequel to AzzyFox's "Trials of Hearts"
1. Awakening

**Well, I have for you here, a new story. A couple things you should know first: This story is a sequel to AzzyFox's Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Trials of Hearts, written with his permission, of course. I recommend you read that before jumping into this story. As such, most of the characters that appear in this story are copyright to him, not me. I do not own Pokémon either. Anyway, now that that's out of the way, let's get on with the show.**

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_Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Stones of Virtue_

_Chapter 1_

_Awakening_

"Uh… My aching head…"

Club rubbed his head tenderly as he slowly regained consciousness. He opened his eyes to see a lush, beautiful prairie surrounded by a dense forest.

"This place… what the heck am I doing here? Come to think of it, how the heck did I get here in the first place?"

For the life of him, Club could not remember how he ended up in the prairie. He slowly got up to his feet, only to stop when laid eyes on his hands… or rather, what used to be his hands.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

Instead of the typical human hand, he saw a set of three, rigid claws. Panicking, Club looked over the rest of his body. Orange and tan feathers covered almost the entirety of his body, except for his lower legs and feet, which hand become avian talons. He noticed that he was slightly shorter than he remembered. Seeing a pond nearby, Club rushed over, and looked at his reflection in horror. A Combusken with a faded scar just above his beak and a woven choker from which a small, perfectly spherical jewel with a gel-like symbol in the center- a Mega Stone- stared back at him.

"I'm a… Combusken… this is impossible…"

Club backed away from the pond slowly and fearfully. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he tried again to think over what the heck had happened to him. Eventually, he remembered what he had been doing before he passed out. He seethed in rage as he remembered those backstabbing idiots.

"Good riddance!" Club took a moment to calm himself down again. "Well, since I'm here, I might as well…"

"INTRUDER!"

Club spun around in shock, seeing a massive swarm of Beedrill emerge from the trees surrounding the prairie. He paled at the large numbers of Beedrill coming at him.

"GET THE INTRUDER!" one the Beedrill screeched, and Club immediately made a run for it. The Beedrill chased after him, intent on running him through with their poisonous stingers. Club made a quick turn, and then leaped into a hollow tree as the swarm flew right past him. Club peeked out of the tree as the Beedrill flew by. He sighed in relief.

"That was close…"

As Club climbed down out of his hiding spot, he glanced behind him to notice a Noibat about to crash into him, which it then did, sending both of them, tumbling to the ground. Hard.

"Oh, gosh, I am so sorry!" the Noibat responded to his blunder. "I should have been looking where I was going…"

"It's fine, really." Club interrupted the Noibat before he could finish. "You don't have to apologize."

The Noibat stared at Club strangely as he said that. "What do you mean I didn't have to apologize!? I could have killed you! Look, Combusken…"

"Call me Club."

"…Club, don't you understand how serious you that was!? You could have been seriously injured, maimed… or worse, killed."

"Dude… it was five feet above the ground."

"I still have to do something to make it up to you. Here, how about I let you stay where my two friends and I hide out. We won't be staying there much longer… we're going to be joining Aggron's Exploration Guild tomorrow morning, and become a fully-fledged, official Exploration Team!"

"Exploration Team?"

"Yeah! We'll get to explore a bunch of dungeons, discover cool treasures, apprehend outlaws, and even come to the aid of helpless Pokémon!"

"Sounds neat…" Club was somewhat intrigued by the concept.

"Hey, how about you join up with us!"

"Wha…!? But this is YOUR dream, isn't it? Wouldn't it be kind of awkward if I just barge into it?"

"Not really. We've been looking for a fourth member for a while now, and you would be perfect for the position. So… what do you say?"

Club paused to consider the Noibat's offer. What would he have to gain by joining this Noibat and his friends? What would he have to give up? In the end, it was a bit of a no-brainer for Club.

"I'm in."

The Noibat whooped and hollered in his joy.

"YES! Welcome to the team, Club! I can't wait to introduce you to the others!"

Club slowly got to his feet… er, talons, and began to walk off in a random direction. "Neither can I. Lead the way, Spade." The Noibat paused briefly in his celebration, and turned towards Club questioningly.

"Spade?"

"What, you'd rather I call you by the name of your species?" Club asked, turning back towards his new companion. "You kind of poked me with your ears when you crashed into me back there, and your wings and claws somewhat remind me of a shovel and pickax, so I figured 'Spade' would be a nice nickname for you. You like it?"

The Noibat seemed to grin happily not long after Club asked. "Like it? I LOVE it! Spade! It sounds awesome! Thank you so much, Club!" and without another word, the newly nicknamed Spade led Club deeper into the woods.

As they were walking, Club silently contemplated whether or not he should tell Spade and his two friends he was actually a human… he didn't think they would believe him, or take kindly to the suggestion. For all he knew, they hated humans with a fierce passion. In the end, he decided to keep it a secret. Right about then, a large shadow passed over him. Stopping suddenly, he glanced skyward to see a massive silhouette of what looked like a capital letter Y flying through the sky.

"_Is that…?"_

"Hey! Club! You coming, or what!?" Spade called from up ahead, snapping Club's attention back to the present.

"Right behind you, Spade!" Club called back, dismissing the earlier sighting as his imagination.

* * *

Eventually, Spade managed to lead Club to a massive, hollow tree with a large hole in the base. Waiting inside the hollow were two Pokémon… a Kirlia and a Phantomp. Club couldn't help but wonder why the Kirlia was there… until he remembered that Kirlia was a Psychic and Fairy type, and could more than likely cover for her friends weaknesses.

"Guys! I'm back!" Spade called out as he led Club inside. His two friends turned towards him in excitement when they noticed Club. "This is Club, our official fourth member. Oh, and he also gave me a nickname shortly after I met him! I'm Spade now."

"Really!?" the Kirlia questioned in excitement. "He's giving out nicknames!? Do you have one for me!?"

Club was momentarily put off by the Kirlia's excitable demeanor. "Well… You are a Pokémon with the power to sense emotions… so I think 'Heart' would be a nice nickname, don't you?" He was then forced to cover his ears as the Kirlia squealed in delight.

"Heart! IloveitIloveitIloveit!"

"Ignore her," the Phantomp spoke up then. "She's easily excited. Anyway… do you have a nickname for me?"

Club spent a good minute thinking it over. "Diamond. Might as well complete the deck."

The Phantomp gave him a deadpan look, but accepted the nickname nonetheless.

"So… the four of us are going to form an Exploration Team tomorrow… at a guild belonging to an Aggron…"

"Yes!" Heart screeched in her delight. "Do you think we'll get to meet Team Shell Bell? This is going to be the best day of my life!"

"Is she always like this?" Club asked Spade and Diamond.

"No, she's usually more manageable than this," Diamond answered. Club gave him a look of sympathy.

"So… who's Team Shell Bell?" Spade, Heart, and Diamond all stared at him in disbelief.

"'Who's Team Shell Bell'!?" they all repeated in shock.

"Uh… yeah… that's exactly what I said."

"HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW WHO TEAM SHELL BELL IS!?" Heart screamed into Club's face. "They're only the most talked about Exploration Team since their formation exactly one year ago!"

"Wait… you've been excited over meeting a team that has only been active for a year?"

"One year, and they're already Diamond Ranked!"

Club stared at the excitable Kirlia blankly. "I'm sorry, am I supposed to be impressed?"

"YES!" Club tenderly massaged his ear.

"We actually don't know that much about them ourselves," Diamond interjected. "But from what I understand, the team is composed of two brothers. They choose the name because they wanted to help Pokémon find a reason to be happy… I think. The details were a little distorted, you know how these legends are."

Club nodded in understanding. He was, however, starting to become interested in Team Shell Bell. "So… what else can you guys tell me about these 'brothers'?"

"Well, like I said, there's two of them: a Lucario and a Zoroark, and…"

"Wait a minute… how is it possible for a Lucario and a Zoroark to be siblings? I know the two both share an egg group, but…"

"From what I understand, the two of them used to be humans." Club stared at the Phantomp as if he had grown a second head.

"I beg your pardon?"

"The members of Team Shell Bell used to be humans." Diamond answered, speaking slowly so Club could follow. He then noticed that Club was disturbingly stiff at this revelation.

"You… wouldn't happen to know their names, would you?"

"I believe their names are Rylan and Zorian, respectively." Diamond waited for Club to respond, but the Combusken was stiff as a board, his eye twitching at regular intervals. "Hello? Club?"

"It… It can't be… I thought they were…"

"What?" This time, Spade was the one to speak up. Club was now able to pull himself together.

"Nothing, nothing," he waved off for his new teammates. "It was just a lot to take in."

Diamond gave Club a look that clearly said that he wasn't buying it, but he didn't press the matter. Club was grateful for that.

"Well, guys, it was nice meeting you, I'll just take a look around the place, okay?" Club spoke up again before anyone could start questioning him. Only Diamond seemed curious about his new comrade's unusual behavior… but it really didn't matter right that second.

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**That should do it for the first chapter. Please leave a review if you can… and just another reminder, I may only claim rights to Club, Spade, Heart, and Diamond for now. Almost all other characters that may appear in this story are copyright to AzzyFox.**


	2. The Trio's Story

**Here it is; the second chapter of this story. Please enjoy… and remember, I only have rights to four of the characters in this story, okay? Good.**

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_Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Stones of Virtue_

_Chapter 2_

_The Trio's Story_

Spade stared after Club as he left the room, wondering what was going through the Combusken's head. He turned to his two friends as things began to settle down after Club's arrival.

"Hey, Spade…" Diamond spoke up, attracting the Noibat's attention. "How exactly did you find Club?"

"I accidently rammed into him while he was climbing out of some hollow tree," Spade answered. The Phantomp looked both shocked and hopeful at this news, and the hopeful part wasn't missed by his flying and dragon type friend. "Before you ask, take into account that I was alone and was ramming head-first into someone I didn't know." The hopeful aspect of Diamond's expression was replaced with embarrassment at almost asking a stupid question.

"So… you didn't see or hear anything?" Heart spoke up, surprisingly calm.

"No, I didn't," Spade responded.

"Do you want to…?" Diamond began to speak up, already knowing what Spade was going to answer with.

"You know I don't like using it to learn people's secrets… but with Club, I get the feeling we may not have a choice in the matter. I want him to tell us of his own free will… but we're going to be teammates, so there can't be any secrets between us. Which means we'll have to tell him about…" Spade could not bring himself to finish that sentence.

"Your Dimensional Scream." Diamond finished it instead. Spade sighed in resignation.

"I know…" the Noibat stared down at the floor, dreading the idea of telling Club about his ability. Heart and Diamond looked at Spade in sympathy, knowing exactly how much the Noibat disliked his power to see the past or future tied to anything he came in physical contact with.

It was at this exact moment that Club walked back into the room, having used his walk around the tree to change his mind about keeping his status as a human a secret. After seeing their strong admiration of Team Shell Bell, he realized that he made a mistake by deciding to hide what he really was, especially if the members of Team Shell Bell were who he thought they were.

"Hey, guys…" Club started hesitantly, "There's something I need to tell you…"

"Club… there's something we need to tell you, too," Diamond spoke, Heart remaining amazingly silent.

"How about you guys go first," Club was trying to delay his confession now.

"Okay… Spade, if you would do the honors."

The Noibat sighed in defeat. "Club… I'm going to just come out and say it. I have a special power called the 'Dimensional Scream'. With that, I can see the past or future of anything I touch, so long as I have a trusted partner with me."

Club blinked in bewilderment. "Uh… really?"

"Yes… need a demonstration or something?" Heart asked in irritation. Was this flaming chicken questioning her friend's honesty?

"Uh…" Club thought it over, and then held his claw out to Spade. "Why not?"

Sighing heavily, Spade reached his wing out and grasped Club's proffered claw, bracing himself for the wave of dizziness that came with his Dimensional Scream.

* * *

_A human boy with flaming red hair, a gruesome scar over the top of his nose, and brown eyes walked along the grimy alleyways of a large, bright, circular city, hands shoved into the pockets of his worn, tattered pants. He glanced up as he noticed a tall, red-haired man standing in front of him._

"_You poor boy…" the man muttered in sympathy. "You've been living on these streets for a long time, haven't you?"_

"_What was your first clue?" the boy snapped back._

"_I can offer you better living conditions… all you have to do is work for me at my company. Could I have your name, please?"_

_The boy was silent for a while before he finally spoke up. "It's Club. Club Marx."_

* * *

Spade was somewhat surprised by what he saw. Club used to be a human like Team Shell Bell!?

"I'm guessing that's what you wanted to tell us…" he muttered out loud. Club rose an eye ridge in confusion.

"What?" Club asked in confusion. His eyes widened seconds later as realization hit him. "You mean… you know about…?"

"How you used to be human like the members of Team Shell Bell?" Spade responded, much to Heart and Diamond's surprise. "Yup."

Club suddenly found the floor incredibly interesting. A split second later, he was tackled down to it by a green and white dancing fairy without wings.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US EARLIER!?" Heart screamed in insulted fury. "WE'RE GOING TO BE TEAMMATES TOMARROW! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THIS LITTLE SECRET OF YOURS!?"

"Well, how the heck was I supposed to know you wouldn't have hated me for being human?" Club asked in defense. This girl had two types that he, as a Fire and Fighting type, matched up badly with. He didn't want to make things worse for himself. "Besides, I could be asking you guys the same thing. Is there any particular reason why you three didn't tell me about Spade's ability earlier?"

At the mention of that, Spade started staring at the floor in despair. "It's because I… I can't stand my power…"

"Why's that?" Club asked, finally managing to push Heart off of him. All three of them looked uncomfortable at the former human's question.

"Well… to understand that… we will have to tell you how the three of us met each other," Diamond explained. "You see, Heart's family lifted with me in this hollow tree, but her parents had to leave while she was still a little Ralts to allow her psychic powers to develop properly… this is common behavior among Psychic types, so don't let it bother you. Over time, we became something akin to siblings, living together, laughing, and having occasional arguments… after a few years of this… Spade came into our lives…"

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**Flashback Time…**

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Heart, still a little Ralts at this point in time, was shuffling along through the forest with a collection of berries in her arms when she stopped, having felt something wet land on her head. Seconds later, it started raining heavily, and she started to pick up her pace, searching for shelter from the downpour. Finally, she found a large, hollow log that she could hide in until the weather passed. The tiny Ralts wasted no time in taking refuge inside the log, gazing out into the downpour. Suddenly, she heard someone crying nearby, and turned around to see a Noibat -Spade- huddled deeper inside the log. Cautiously, she shuffled a little closer to the Flying and Dragon type in front of her.

"Hey…" She asked timidly. "What's wrong?"

"Go away…" the Noibat muttered in sorrow.

"But I want to help…"

"I SAID GO AWAY, FAIRY SCUM!" The young Ralts took a step back in shock. The Noibat suddenly realized the serious mistake he just made. "I-I'm so sorry, please don't hurt me!"

"I-it's okay, really," Ralts assured the Noibat. "I'm not offended. Please… just… tell me what's wrong."

Noibat sighed in defeat as he refused to make eye contact with the Psychic and Fairy type present with him. "Alright… I used to live with a colony of Noibat and Noivern in the mountains nearby. The other Noibat liked to play tricks on me and do mock battles with me. One day… I was on a stroll with my parents, and we got lost on the way back to the colony. While we were wondering around, we met a Druddigon who offered to let us stay with him until we could find our way back to our own colony. But… the truth was that the Druddigon was a wanted criminal, and he was leading us to his lair... and when we got there… he and his gang attacked my parents and I… I… I ABANDONED THEM AND FLED!" Noibat suddenly started balling his eyes out, Ralts doing everything in her power to try and comfort him. "WHY!"

"Hey, hey it's alright, really."

"WHY WAS I SUCH A COWARD!?"

"It's alright, you need to calm down, please."

"They're… they're both dead… my parents are both dead and it's all my fault!"

"Please… wait, what makes you say that?" The Noibat immediately shut up at that question.

"Well… the thing is… When the Druddigon offered to lead us to his place, he bumped shoulders with me. When that happened, I suddenly felt all dizzy, and then… I saw a vision of that Druddigon slashing my parents' throats. At the time, I dismissed it as my imagination, but when he attacked us…" he couldn't finish that sentence. He just couldn't. Ralts suddenly realized that this Noibat had an extremely rare power at his disposal. "I left my parents to die…" the Noibat muttered again, all out of tears to cry. "I'm alone…"

"Don't say that," Ralts chided the Noibat sternly. "You're not alone. You're never alone. You have me now… and I know that my friend will be there for you as well. Please… would you stay with me and my friend?"

"What?" Noibat was surprised at this Ralts's offer.

"You don't have to be alone…"

Noibat stared at Ralts as she held a hand out for him. This girl… This fairy-type was willing to offer sanctuary to a Dragon-type like him? He suddenly began to cry tears of joy as he reached out and shook the offered hand in acceptance. Ralts proceeded to hug Noibat in happiness, also trying in joy now.

"Thank you…" Noibat whispered softly to her. He couldn't see the blush forming of the Ralts's face.

* * *

**End Flashback**

* * *

"…And I've been living with these two ever since," Spade finished the story. "Diamond told me everything about my power, and with some experience, I slowly became willing to use it when necessary. From that, we got the idea to form an exploration team, and put my power to best use."

"After Heart evolved, we decided to find a fourth member for our team," Diamond picked up. "That was about a month ago… and just earlier today… we met you."

Club stared down at the floor, almost in tears at Spade's sad tale. He felt terrible for the poor Noibat… but he had also realized one other thing.

"Spade… really isn't that different from me, then," he muttered, just loud enough for the others to hear him.

"What do you mean?"

"I lost my parents when I was a little boy, too. For almost the entirety of my life… I've been alone."

"I'm sorry," Spade muttered in empathy. "What… what exactly was your life like… you know… when you were human?"

Club glanced up at the Noibat apologetically. "That's a story for later, my friend,"

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**Please Review.**


	3. The Birth of Team Tarot

**Here is the third chapter of the fan-made sequel to AzzyFox's story. We now fast forward to the next day, as the four hopefuls arrive at Aggron's guild to sign up as explorers.**

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_Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Stones of Virtue_

_Chapter 3_

_The Birth of Team Tarot_

"So… this is the place?" Club asked interestedly. He, Spade, Heart, and Diamond were standing before a massive, fortress like structure made of wood and metal, painted in greens and browns that camouflaged it with the surrounding forest. Club counted nine floors within it.

"Yep… this is Aggron's exploration guild," Spade answered happily. "In just a few hours… we'll be an official exploration team."

Heart squealed in excitement. "THIS IS SO COOL! THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!" Club glanced at the excitable Kirlia worriedly, and quickly glanced at his other to companions with a pleading expression.

"You get used to her," they both replied offhandedly. Club gulped nervously at this dismissal.

With that, the four of them proceeded up the large flight of stairs, Heart dancing along gaily. At the top of the stairs, Club noticed a metal grating just in front of the doors of the fortress. He wondered what purpose it was supposed to serve, when Heart landed on top of it, having danced her way to the front of the group.

"We have a visitor!" they heard someone exclaim from underneath the grating, scaring the heck out of Club in the process. They had sentries stationed under that thing!?

"Whose footprint?" a second voice asked.

"It's Kirlia's. Repeat, Kirlia." The first voice chimed back.

"Oh, uh by the way, I have three others with me!" Heart shouted down, trying to be helpful. "A Noibat, a Phantump, and a Combusken! We're here to register as an exploration team!"

"Got that? Noibat, Phantump, Combusken!" the first voice repeated back to his partner.

"Rodger that. Please, come inside!" the second sentry replied as the doors in front of the group opened. "I'll inform the Guildmaster straight away!"

As the doors opened fully, the four hopefuls could a large, clean room with several Pokémon milling around, or looking over two bulletin boards hanging from the back wall, which was also decorated with a large variety of medals. Club glanced behind him at his three companions, and noticed that all of them were in as much awe as he was.

Looking back towards the back wall, Club noticed a Gallade walking towards him and his companions.

"Good morning," Gallade greeted the four of them courtly. "I am Gallade, the Guildmaster's second-in-command. I've been informed by our sentries that the four of you wish to join us as an official exploration team, I that correct?"

"Yes, sir," Club responded automatically, the other three nodding their heads in agreement.

"I should warn you that exploration is not for the faint of heart. There will be times where many trials ahead of you… trials that I have seen fell many hopefuls in the past."

"Believe me, sir… we can handle anything thrown at us," Spade responded strongly. "As long as we have each other, nothing will stop us, right?" Neither he nor Heart noticed the light blush on the latter's cheeks. Gallade nodded, approving the Noibat's conviction.

"Follow me, then. I shall lead you to the Guildmaster's chambers." Gallade proceeded to lead the four hopefuls to a set of doors at the opposite end of the room. While they were walking, Club stopped suddenly when he noticed two Pokémon with strange physical characteristics.

The first was a Lucario who was wearing a black band on each of his arms and legs, a black bandanna with a diamond badge pinned to it tied around his waist, and a supply bag on his back. What was weird about him was that he had three tufts of fur on his head that wouldn't lay flat, and from the angle Club was looking from, he could see that the Lucario's eyes were green instead of the traditional red.

Standing right next to him was a Zoroark, who was also wearing a bandanna with the same badge around his neck, a similar back on his back, and a strange red band with a picture of a fist on his right forearm. This one's oddities were that the colors of his hair were reversed: black with red highlights instead of the other way around, and like the Lucario standing next to him, his eyes and Zoroark normalcy were at opposite ends of the color wheel.

"_Are those… Team Shell Bell?"_ Club couldn't help but wonder. Just then, the Zoroark turned his head slightly to look at Club, and Club, in a minor panic, jogged to catch back up with his companions.

By this time, Gallade and the others had reached the set of doors that led to the Guildmaster's chamber. Club caught up with the group just as Gallade opened the door, not even half as winded as he expected to be. Club didn't have time to wonder about that as he laid eyes on the Guildmaster's office.

It was by far the largest and cleanest room Club had ever seen. At the center of the room, there was a somewhat large desk, behind which stood the Guild's master, an Aggron as advertised. Club couldn't help but be intimidated by the massive Pokémon in front of him, but the gentle look in the Steel-type's eyes helped to calm his nerves.

"Guildmaster… I have led the hopefuls here," Gallade reported to his superior.

"Thank you, Gallade. You are dismissed for now," Aggron replied gently. Club's first impression of the Guildmaster? An angel you do not want to piss off.

"Yes, sir," With that, Gallade left the room, leaving the four hopefuls alone with Aggron. The latter looked at them with a concerned expression.

"I am sure Gallade has already warned you, but exploration is not a job to be taken lightly," He spoke.

"Yes, he has..." Spade responded. "But… we still want to take this job… and… grow strong enough to protect those we care about."

Aggron smiled at Spade's statement. "Your reason is rather admirable, Noibat,"

"I-I go by 'Spade', sir," the Noibat politely corrected him. "My friends behind me go by Heart, Club, and Diamond." He indicated each of them in turn.

"Noted," was Aggron's only response. "Do you have a name for your team?"

Spade remained silent for a few minutes thinking it over until he remembered Club's reason for giving Diamond that specific nickname. "Team Tarot. You know, like a deck of cards? Our names are all suits in a deck of playing cards, so…" he trailed off nervously. Aggron chuckled softly at this.

"Alright then. Team Tarot will be registered as an official exploration team of this guild," the four of them beamed at this prospect. "But before I do that, is there anything in particular that I should know about you… aside from your Combusken friend actually being human, of course." Club's eyes widened in surprise at that last part of the Guildmaster's question.

"How… how the heck did you…?"

"Fire-type Pokémon's skin will automatically combust around any cuts or puncture wounds received in battle, in order to prevent infection before they can receive proper treatment. But that scar on your face shows no signs of being cauterized in this manner. Therefore it would stand to reason that you weren't even a Pokémon at the time you received it."

Club could only stare at the Steel and Rock type in amazement. Diamond was staring at the floor, embarrassed that he didn't even notice that Club even HAD a scar there when he first met him yesterday. Spade ignored how Aggron had deduced that Club used to be human, and started distracting himself from the Guildmaster's original question by glancing around the room.

"Well… actually…" Spade getting a little fidgety as he tried to work up the courage to tell his soon-to-be-commanding-officer about his ability. He glanced down at a strand of white thread close to his feet… he couldn't help but wonder who it belonged to… but also wondered if he had just found a way to make things easier on himself. "Just watch." Spade slowly leaned down and picked up the thread, examining it critically. Seconds later, as he had expected, he felt the familiar and dreaded wave of dizziness rush through him.

* * *

_A Slowking was working his way through the forest, grumbling to himself about nothing in particular. He stopped suddenly as he came upon a small fragment of ice._

* * *

Spade snapped back to reality as the vision ended. He glared at the thread in his wing as if it had said something offensive, and angrily tossed it over his shoulder.

"That told me absolutely nothing," he grumbled in annoyance. Aggron only stared at the Noibat curiously. Spade sighed regretfully. "Okay, I'll just say it. I have the Dimensional Scream." Aggron's eyes widened in surprise for a second, then returned to his normal, gentle expression.

"Same that boy my associate took in…" Aggron commented to no one in particular. "Alright then… if that is all you needed to tell me, I get you registered right away." With that, Aggron turned his back to the hopefuls, and started fiddling with something on the wall behind him. After a couple of minutes, he turned back to the new recruits. "There. You've been registered as an official exploration team. Now that you have this recognition, you're going to need these." He set four boxes in front of each of them, each containing an explorer badge, a supply bag, and a random accessory. After Aggron explained the purpose of each item, he led them to an unoccupied room on the first floor on the guild, and instructed them to settle in. They would not be going on any missions that day, and were instead supposed to use the day to settle into the guild.

Heart and Diamond were both busying themselves by constructing beds for the four of them, and Spade and Club were just outside the room, watching the other Pokémon head off for their missions.

"Kind of exhilarating, isn't it?" Club asked offhandedly.

"What do you mean?" Spade asked.

"In less than twenty-four hours, that'll be us in that hallway, taking missions to be completed in some unknown territory. It seems a little exciting, don't you think?"

"Yeah… I guess it is…" Spade sat there for few seconds in silence. "Hey, Club… remember back at the hideout yesterday? You said that you've been alone your entire life."

"Yeah…" Club stared at the floor in depression.

"Hey, look at things this way… you don't have to be alone anymore. You have me, Heart, Diamond… I know the members of this guild will be there for you as well… You're not alone anymore."

Club smiled softly at the Noibat's reassuring words.

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**Please Review.**


	4. Mission in Halloween Forest

_Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The Stones of Virtue_

_Chapter 4_

_Mission in Halloween Forest_

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"So THAT'S how this place got its name…" Rylan commented as he analyzed the dense forest standing in front of him and Zorian. They were currently situated at the entrance of a large forest, little sunlight penetrating the dense cluster of leaves and countless Jack-o-Lanterns dangling from the branches of the trees, which was fitting, given the locale's name: Halloween Forest.

"It's probably infested with Dark- and Ghost-type Pokémon on top of that," Zorian theorized seconds later. "Should be easy between the two of us."

"We should be careful, nonetheless," Rylan cautioned. "The bandits we're looking for have countless hiding places in this forest, and if you're right about the forest's Ghost type population, I won't be able to hunt them by their auras. There'll be too much 'noise' to pick out a specific signature with my still-mediocre skill level in that department."

"Right…" Zorian paused to consider the others options they had available to them. "We'll just have to try and find their main camp. If we take that out, it should bring any other bandits in the forest out of hiding."

"Well, we won't find them by just standing here," Rylan was quick to point out. "We should get going and check this place out." With that, he proceeded to enter the forest, his brother quick to follow his lead.

* * *

A sinister figure watched the team enter the forest, and proceeded to follow them in the shadows, waiting for the chance to strike… as if he would actually receive one. His job was to just watch them, not try to take them out. They could still have their uses, after all.

* * *

Zorian's eyes were darting around the forest as he and Rylan progressed further into Halloween Forest. He felt certain the forest was called that for more than just the decorations to the trees.

Rylan, meanwhile, was focusing more on figuring out where they find the main hideout. The bandits would have to place it somewhere deep in the forest to make sure no one stumbled upon it by accident, and in a secluded location that even the natives wouldn't be able to locate.

From the corner of his eye, Rylan noticed a rainbow glow that misdirected his train of thought. Turning to see what it was, he saw what looked like the upper half of the letter "X" glowing in seven brilliant colors. Looking closer, he realized it was actually the horns of a large deer-like Pokémon… one he didn't recognize. It didn't help that most of this strange Pokémon was hidden in the shadows.

The mysterious Pokémon and Rylan stared at each other for what felt like hours, but in reality was only thirty seconds. Rylan was about to open his mouth, and try to talk to it, but Zorian, noticing that his little brother was lagging behind, called out to him in concern. When Rylan glanced back at the spot where he had seen the strange Pokémon, it was gone. Figuring it was just his imagination, he jogged to catch up with the Zoroark in front of him.

As they continued walking through the forest, fighting off the occasional Ghost-type, including these pumpkin-like Pokémon neither of them were familiar with, things began to lull again. Rylan noticed that his brother had a look of contemplation on his face.

"Something on your mind?" Rylan wondered out loud.

"Well… while we were looking for a job to complete, I noticed this weird Combusken staring at us… he didn't seem like someone we know in the guild… but I just can't shake this feeling that I've met him somewhere before. That scar on his face… ugh, where have I met this guy before!?" Zorian had started banging a fist on his forehead in frustration. "WHY CAN'T I SHAKE THIS DISTURBING SENSE OF DÉJÀ VU HERE!?" Rylan then gave Zorian a gentle Force Palm to his back, temporarily paralyzing him.

"Quiet," he hissed. "Any louder and you'll bring everything in the forest to us." Zorian collapsed to his knees as Rylan proceeded to drag him further in by his hair. "We can worry about that later. Right now, we have a bandit camp to hunt down."

Zorian couldn't help but chuckle in mild embarrassment, even though he still couldn't feel anything from his chest down. "Sorry, bro… this déjà vu thing is driving me crazy."

"Who wouldn't be driven crazy by something they just can't seem to remember for the life of them? It's just so infuriating when the answer is just sitting there on the tip of your tongue like that…"

Zorian nodded stiffly in understanding at his little brother's words. The green-eyed Zoroark subtly pulled a Cheri berry from his bag, and took a few bites from it to toss out the remainder of his paralysis. Rylan let go of his hair not a second later. Just in time, too, as another of the unusual pumpkin like Pokemon (a Pumpkaboo) suddenly appeared in front of the duo.

"You don't belong here…" the Ghost and Grass type hissed in hatred. "Get out while you still can…"

"Take a look at who you're talking to, buster," Zorian growled as he and Rylan enter a battle ready stance.

"Oh… Dark types won't be that much of a problem… especially since I know my evolutionary line's signature attack," the Pumpkaboo grinned evilly at them.

"Signature attack?" both members of Team Shell Bell couldn't help but wonder. A small jack-o-lantern appeared next to the Pumpkin Pokémon.

"Trick-or-Treat…" the Pumpkaboo announced in a singsong voice, before throwing the jack-o-lantern at Rylan, hitting him in the face as the projectile exploded into a shower of Halloween candy. The green eyed Lucario was quick to blink off his shock at the unorthodox attack, before staring at the candy questioningly, along with his brother.

"What does…?"

"Shadow Ball!" the Pumpkaboo interrupted Rylan's question with another attack, taking advantage of his confusion at Trick-or-Treat. The attack hit Rylan square in the chest, and to Rylan's surprise, it hurt. A lot. He fell to his knees, clutching the point of impact in pain. Zorian whirled towards his brother, surprised at the unusually harming attack.

"Rylan! Are you okay?!"

"Why… why did that Shadow Ball hurt so much?" Rylan couldn't help but wonder.

"That's what Trick-or-Treat does, you dummy," the Pumpkaboo chided them cynically. "It makes the target part Ghost-Type."

"W-what?" Zorian was able to get out before he also received an exploding candy carrier to the face, followed by another Shadow Ball to his chest. Thankfully, he was still part Dark-type, so it only dealt normal damage to him. Because of this, Zorian had enough endurance to counter this with a swift Night Slash to the Pumpkaboo's body, knocking it out. Rylan was already eating an Oran berry to help recover from the Shadow Ball attack.

"We'll have to pick up the pace," he muttered in between bites. "If we're really part Ghost-type now, we're even more vulnerable to the natives' attacks. We have to find that bandit camp as soon as possible, and get the job over with before things get any worse."

"Well… I think we just found it," Immediately, the green-eyed Lucario raced to his elder brother's side, and looking at what he was seeing. Indeed, that had found the bandit camp, with the entire lot of the bandits gathered in the center, as if waiting for something…or someone.

"What do suppose the big event is?" Rylan wondered out loud, only loud enough for the black-haired Zoroark next to him to hear.

"No idea. We'd better spy on them for a while, before we make our move."

No sooner had Zorian finished that sentence that a strange Pokémon resembling a golden sword with a hard-looking shield and cloth streamers that served as its arms approached the bandits. The bandits' leader, a fearsome looking Zangoose, approached the newcomer with a look of annoyance on his face.

"About time you showed up, Aegislash," the Zangoose growled. "I was starting to think you were going to chicken out."

"You wouldst do well to watch thy tongue, knave," the sword thing, Aegislash, chided the Zangoose. His voice sounded like vibrating metal that was somehow forming words. "Regardless, hast thou located the tools my lord demanded?"

"Tools?" Zorian wondered out loud, his voice barely above a whisper. Rylan could only shrug his shoulders in confusion before turning his attention back to the meeting.

"Of course we haven't, you medieval piece of rust! These are the relics of the Great Father we're talking about. Merely going to collect them would be next to impossible."

Aegislash huffed in disgust at the Zangoose's words. "As to be expect of petty bandits. Truly, the world hath nothing more useless than lowly crooks."

"Would it kill you to speak in modern English? This isn't the tenth century!"

"Hath thou no honor!?" Aegislash countered in anger. The two Pokémon then started spiraling into a long, pointless argument that offered Team Shell Bell an ample opportunity to sneak around into the camp, and take out most of the bandits by surprise. By the time Zangoose and Aegislash noticed what was happening, they were the only ones still standing.

"Huh!? When did you two get here?!" The Zangoose questioned aloud.

"They have been around the whole time, nitwit!" Aegislash informed him rather bluntly. "These scallywags have been spying on us the entire time, waiting for an opportune time to strike out… that's why I insinuated an argument with a knave such as you." Aegislash then proceeded to take off the shield on his body, holding it in his left hand. "To give them such an opportunity. One I plan on exploiting for my lord." Abruptly, Aegislash slammed his shield on the Zangoose's head, knocking him out. "I shall not allow a lowly bandit to screw things over for me or my lord. Have at me, knaves!"

"Alright, bring it on!" Rylan exclaimed, shortly after shaking off the shock that the possessed sword had known they were there the entire time. His eyes glowed a blood red color as he glared at Aegislash, his Foresight attack rendering him vulnerable. Zorian capitalized on this by rushing at the golden blade with a Night Slash attack, but Aegislash instead met it with a Sacred Sword attack, surprising the black haired Zoroark. Fortunately for him, he was still under the effect of Trick-or-Treat, and the fighting type attack phased right through him as if he wasn't even there. To say that this was disturbing to Zorian would be an understatement.

Aegislash was somewhat surprised that his attack did nothing to a Dark-type Pokémon, but he was quick to figure out what went wrong. Almost seamlessly, the blade transitioned into a Night Slash of his own, which proved a bit more effective. Despite this, Zorian was grinning smugly at the blade, before a turquoise orb passed through his chest, and square into Aegislash's face. To explain, it is true that Rylan's ability to read and manipulate aura is still low tier, since he had evolved somewhat recently, but it was good enough for him to use the Aura Sphere attack.

Having been rendered vulnerable to Fighting and Normal type attacks by the earlier Foresight, and being part Steel type, Aegislash was left in a world of pain. Zorian was about follow up, but before he could, the golden blade hastily threw an orb at the ground, which exploded in a flash of light, temporarily blinding the two brothers. By the time they could see clearly again, Aegislash was gone.

"He got away…" Zorian muttered under his breath.

"Well… it doesn't matter that much," Rylan assured him as walked up to his side. "Our mission was to locate and subdue a bandit camp, and we did that. Officer Magnezone should be here any minute now to collect." Here, he paused to contemplate the Aegislash's discussion with the bandit leader. "Although… you've got to wonder what the heck these 'tools' he was asking about are…"

Zorian was also wondering about that. "We should let the Guildmaster know about that when we get back. Might be important…"

* * *

Just outside of the forest, Aegislash was leaning against a lone boulder, attempting to catch his breath. The sinister figure that had been watching Team Shell Bell joined him not long after.

"Aw, what's wrong?" the figure asked tauntingly. "Couldn't handle a few Diamond ranked wimps?"

"First of all, it is disrespectful to refer to Diamond ranked explorers as 'wimps'," Aegislash reprimanded him. "Second, it was only circumstance that resulted in my loss. If they had not been victim to a Pumpkaboo's Trick-or-Treat attack, I would have emerged victorious."

"That, or last a lot longer before they creamed you," the figure countered. The figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing a Druddigon. "From what I gathered… they will be one of the biggest obstacles in our way… Especially if they discover how to break the evolution barrier."

* * *

**It shouldn't take a genius to figure out what he means. Anyway, please review.**


End file.
